Rail fastener



May 6, 1941. F. SWARTZ RAIL FASTENER Filed July 3, 1940 Mus/v70 Q of;

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Patented May 6, 1941 UNIT-ED STATES" PATENT OFFICE RrAIL'FASTENER. 7

Fred Swartz, Toledo, Ohio. npplicationilulyt, .1940, Serial No. 343, 55 9 Claims.. (or. 238-291,)

The primary object of the invention is the provision of a construction "which will secure a:

railroad'rail to the ordinary and conventional tie in a manner whereby possibility of loosening-or displacement of the 'rail in respect to its original position on the tie is practically entirely eliminated.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a rail fastener having'th'e forego ng attributes and which'is comparatively cheap and simple of manufacture and easily and cheaply applicable to standard and conventional railroad rail and tie or track constructions-without in any wayaltering the same.

A still furtherobject of the invention is the provision of a rail fastener which secures a rail to a tie in a manner considered superior to rail fasteners now known to me and in common :usage.

Other objects, novel features of construction and improved results of the invention will appear from the following description when read in the light ofthe accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View illustrating thea'pplication of the fastener to a railroad rail and tie.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view-of Fig; 1, a portion of the figure being shown in horizontal section to better illustrate the construction andarrangement of the parts.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction indi-- as iscommon practice in respect to such ties the grain of the wood runs longitudinally of-the tie.

The present improved rail fastener is used in combination with the conventional railroad rail and tie and is applicable for use therewith irrespective of the exact tie width or rail weight.

This fastener comprises a pair-of plates C and D which are preferably, although not necessarily, made of metal and cast or otherwise formed into the desired or necessaryshape, the exact nature of which will hereinafter appear. A sliding wedge E is usedin combination with the two-part plate and byreference to the drawing it will clearly appear that the plates rest upon the upper-face 4 of the tie and that the rail base 3 rests upon the upper faces-5 and 6 of the plates and spans the sliding wedge E;

Describing the construction in detail it will be seen that the plates C and Dare of an 'L shape in cross sectional con-figuration and comprise in addition to their upper faces 5 and 6 side walls or flanges I which extend longitudinally of the plates and-which are, when the plates are in place, in abutment with the side walls :8 of the tie. Once the plates are in proper position upon the ties with theirside walls abutting the tie sidewalls they are securely fastened insaid position :by ordinary railroad spikes- 9 which pass through openingslfl provided in the plate side Walls or flangesfll.

The face 5 of the plate C adjacent oneof its ends is provided with a lip H which overhangs and engages in a-clamping manner the rail'base 3 at one side of the rail.

The face 6 ofthe plate 1D adjacent one of its ends is provided withan upwardly extending web H which overhangs the rail base 3 and-clampingly en a es it in a manner similar to that in which the lip ll engages the rail base. The lip H and the lip portion of the web [2 engage the rail base at opposite sides of the rail as clearly appears in the drawing. A supplemental web I3 is provided for strengthening the main rail engaging web I2.

' The adjacent oropposing longitudinaledges of the plate faces 5 and 6 are provided with identicalchannelways H which in the preferred embodiment of the'invention have a vertical rear wall 1 5, a fiat horizontally disposed bottom l6 and an ,undercu-t outer wall I! whereby this-wall slants upwardly and inwardly.

The sliding wedge is preferably, although not necessarily, made of metal and is of a length greater than the length of the rail plates. The wedge has a wide end l8 and a narrow end Hi. It has straight vertically disposed side walls 20 and has flat horizontally disposed bottom faces 2| separatedby a cut-out longitudinally extending groove 22 which is of the proper configuration to telescopically receive and have a wedge action in respectto the undercut or inclined outer side Walls I l and sidewalls l5 of the plate grooves.

The wedge at one of its ends is provided with a vertically and upwardly extending car 23 provided with a suitable opening for the passage of a threaded bolt 24 or the equivalent. The plate web I2 at one of its sides is provided with an car 25 provided with an opening for the passage of the bolt 24. This ear is provided with a countersunk or cut-out 26' of the proper size to receive the bolt head 21 and act to prevent axial rotation of the bolt.

Thus it will be understood that my construction can be applied to a rail and tie quickly and thus economically from the standpoint of labor expense. When the parts are in their final positions the adjacent and opposed longitudinal and inner'edges 3| of the plates will be in spaced relation as indicated at 32 in Fig. 3 of the drawing. Consequently if during usage it becomes either necessary or desirable to tighten the clampirgengagement of the plates with the ties it is'only necessary to tap the slidingwedge further along or through its guideway and thereafter tighten down upon the nut 28 of the locking bolt 24. To assure sufiicient and adequate rigidity and strength the ear of the plate web I2 is strengthened by a supplemental web 33.

The present rail fastener is particularly adapted for use on the outside rail on a curved portion of the track. Very high strains and forces are imparted to such rails and many derailments of trains occur due to spreading of rails on curves. The present fastener will prevent such derailments but its use is also desirable ,on all portions of the trackage.

i It is ordinary pra'ctice today to secure the rail to the track by means of spikes which are driven into the top faces of the ties. Ordinarily some form of tie plate is used in combination with the rail. The spikes pass through these plates and secure them to the tie and the plates in some instances have suitable holding or clamping engagement with the rail bases. In some instances the heads of the spikes overhang the edges of the rail base and thus secure the rail in position.

Such constructions and other constructions commonly in use have been found inadequate in that when the rail is subjected to heavy strains and forces the spikes are pulled loose from the tie and permit the rails to spread thus causing wrecks. This is due largely to the fact that with the spikes in the upper faces of the ties they will becomes apparent that the holding abilities of the spikes have been seriously impaired it is necessary to plug the spike holes in the rail and then redrive the spikes. This obviously material- 'ly increases the cost of track upkeep.

In my device the foregoing enumerated deficiencies are completely overcome and the posibility of the spreading of the rails is practically entirely eliminated. Loosening of the spikes 9 in a longitudinal direction, the easiest manner in which the spikes can become loosened and the manner in which they become loosened in conventional track fastening constructions, is prevented by the sliding wedge E which securely locks the rail securing plates against movement in a direction transverse to the tie. Consequently the entire strain to which the spikes are subjected by the passage of a train over the rails is in an upward direction, that is to say, a direction transverse to the longitudinal axes of the spikes. Likelihood of loosening the spikes by subjecting them to a pull or force exerted in an upward direction is practically nil as compared with the possibility of loosening the spikes by subjecting them to a pull or force along their longitudinal axes. To loosen the spikes in my fastener it is necessary to pull the entire length of the spike which is within the tie upwardly through the tie and transverse to the grain of the Wood. Obviously the holding ability of the spikes as arranged in my construction compared to spikes as used conventionally in the top faces of the ties is multiplied and increased many times.

The present invention will operate to prevent rail spread and train wrecks. Rail spreading or rail displacement can result only by the breakage of the railholding lips H of the plate C or the breakage of the web I 2 of the plate D. By assuring sufficient strength to these rail holding and clamping elements rail spreading will be impossible because the rail plates are so strongly secured to the ties as to prevent movement of them due to forces exerted by the passage of trains over the track.

The modification illustrated in Fig. 4 pertains solely to the cross sectional configuration of the grooves in the tie plates and the channel ways in the sliding web. Instead of providing undercut or inclined outer side walls for the rail grooves these side walls 34 are straight and disposed in a vertical plane. The groove 35' in the bottom of the wedge is illustrated to cooperate with the particular configuration of the plate grooves, as is clearly apparent in this figure of the drawing.

It is recognized that specific and detailed changes in construction can be made from those illustrated in the drawing, but such changes would not alter the inventive concept or principle of operation of my invention, and accordingly the invention is to be limited only within the terms of the hereinafter following claims.

7 I claim:

1. In combination with a track rail and tie, a pair of plates resting upon the upper face of said tie and having side portions paralleling the side walls of the tie, a wedge member engaging and slidable over means on said plates cooperating with said wedge member for moving the side portions of the plates into clamping engagement with the side walls of the tie, means on the upper faces of said plates engaging and securing the base of the rail to the plates, and spikes or the like passing through the side portions of the plates into the side walls of the tie and locking the plates against movement on or from said tie.

2. In combination with a track rail and tie, a pair of plates provided with means engaging and securing the rail to'the plates, each plate provided with side portions adapted to abut the side wall of the tie, each of said plates provided with a channelway, said channelways extending in a direction transverse the rail and divergiiTg from one another, a wedge member having means fitting and slidable in said channelways for moving the plates transverse the tie and clamping the side portions of the plate against the side walls of the tie, and spikes or the like substantially horizontally disposed and passing through the side portions of the plates into the side walls of the tie.

3. A construction such as defined in claim 2 wherein, means is provided for locking said wedge member against movement along the plate channelways.

4. A construction such as defined in claim 2, wherein said wedge member is locked to one of said plates for preventing movement of said wedge member in said plates after the plates have been clamped to the tie.

5. A construction such as defined in claim 1 wherein, means is provided for locking said wedge member from sliding movement on said plates.

6. A construction such as defined in claim 1 20 wherein, means is provided for locking said wedge member from sliding movement on said plates and said wedge member interlocks with said plates to prevent upward displacement of said wedge member from said plates.

7. A construction such as defined in claim 1 wherein, said wedge member interlocks with said plates to prevent upward displacement of said wedge member from said plates.

8. A construction such as defined in claim 2 wherein, said wedge member interlocks with said plates to prevent upward displacement of said wedge member from said plates.

9. A construction such as defined in claim 2 wherein, means is provided for locking said wedge member against movement along said plate channelways, and said wedge member interlocks with said channelways to prevent upward displacement of said wedge member from the plates.

FRED L. SWARTZ. 

